Hyde5: Is Jennings better fit than Wallace for Dolphins?

March 5, 2013|Dave Hyde

The Dolphins would be instantly upgraded with Mike Wallace or Greg Jennings (or Victor Cruz or Danny Amendola - let's be honest, any signing is an upgrade). And there's some thought they should get both -- if they expend $20 million of their approximate $40 million on two receivers, you can't go bad here. So there are a lot of avenues the Dolphins can go down to improve. But if we're choosing between the two most-discussed receivers, Jennings looks to be a better fit than Mike Wallace.

Again, Wallace would be a nice get. He has a gear few players do. He’d fit into this offense nicely. So on some level we're quibbling over apples versus oranges. But let’s go over a few things in comparing the two:

1. Jennings is just as productive Wallace. And maybe moreso. Both had down years last season – Jennings because of a hamstring and Wallace possibly because of contract thoughts. But Jennings had nine touchdowns in 2011 and has at least nine in four of the past six seasons. Wallace has one of his four seasons with as many as nine touchdowns (though twice he has scored eight TDs). The point is, they both get in the end zone a lot. Both come from productive offenses with great quarterbacks so they're in comparable positions. Jennings will be 30 in September while Wallace is 27 in August. So age is a consideration with Jennings moving ahead, but ...

2. Jennings is the more polished receiver - and can play every receiving position. This latter point is a requirement as the Dolphins build a receiving corps. Joe Philbin and Mike Sherman want receivers to move around and create mismatches. Wallace isn’t that kind of a receiver. He will stretch a defense in ways Jennings can’t. But Jennings runs great routes, which this offense demands and is quarterback-friendly.

3. Jennings has the kind of values this team covets. See Brandon Marshall for what they don’t want. See Vontae Davis. From the outside, Jennings looks to be the kind of person Philbin wants. One of the questions every team has is how a player will react to a huge contract. Philbin, of course, worked with Jennings in Green Bay and has the full book on him. Nothing suggest Wallace is a problem personality. But Jennings seems exactly what this staff wants.

4. Jennings should be a better value. Wallace turned down a five-year, $55 million contract with Pittsburgh. That suggests he thinks something is bigger out there. It’s hard to see Jennings, at 30 this year, getting something bigger. Then again, it’s hard to see why Wallace is discussed as a better talent than Jennings.

5. For a building team like the Dolphins, Jennings is a good fit. He'll teach others how to run routes and be a pro. This isn't to say Wallace won't. It's just that Jennings, as mentioned, can play all positions in a manner Wallace hasn't and has a track record for how well he handles himself on a winning team.